Somebody That I Used to Know (True Blood)

Last updated
"Somebody That I Used to Know"
True Blood episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 8
Directed by Stephen Moyer
Written by Mark Hudis
Production code508
Original air dateJuly 29, 2012 (2012-07-29)
Running time56 minutes
Episode chronology
 Previous
"In the Beginning"
Next 
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
True Blood (season 5)
List of episodes

"Somebody That I Used to Know" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of HBO's True Blood , and the 56th episode of the series overall. It was written by Mark Hudis and directed by cast member Stephen Moyer, who plays vampire Bill Compton. The episode first aired on July 29, 2012 on HBO near the end of the season. This episode also marks the directing debut of Moyer.

Contents

The season (and thus its episodes) is loosely based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries fifth book Dead as a Doornail . Moyer noted that it was "fun" directing his fellow castmates though his wife joked and called him a "bossy" director. Moyer stated it was fun although quite unusual for him to direct them (the castmembers) himself prior to everything going on in the season.

Plot

Sam and Luna

An emotional Luna unintentionally shifts into Sam's form and gets stuck.

Bill and Eric

The Authority celebrate the entirely new direction it has chosen to take regarding Lilith, while Eric tries to convince Bill and Nora about getting a message from Godric.

Bill is shaken by a memory from 1910.

Sookie and Jason

Jason convinces Sookie not to dump her faerie ability. Aided by Claude and his sisters, they go to the site where their parents were killed, and learn that they were murdered by a vampire named Macklyn Warlow.

Jessica and Hoyt

Hoyt's vampire-hating friends abduct Jessica, and require him to shoot her.

Alcide

J.D. raises the stakes for the upcoming fight against Alcide.

Lafayette

Lafayette finds some V that Jesus stored in his first aid kit. He uses it to heal his wounded lips. Jesus appears to him.

When he arrives home, Arlene and Holly are waiting for him. They ask him to perform a fake seance to contact the spirit of the woman who cursed Terry.

Tara and Pam

While tending bar at Fangtasia, Tara encounters Tracy, an old high school rival. After taking offense at Tracy's comments, Tara threatens her but Pam intervenes.

Later, Pam orders Tara down into Fangtasia's dungeon. There she presents Tara with Tracy who is bound and gagged. Pam glamours Tracy into seeing her "only purpose [as] to serve Tara." Tracy's gag is removed and she begs Tara to feed on her.

Reception

Critical reception

IGN gave the episode a score of 6.5 out of 10, calling the episode "overly-absurd" and saying that "Yes, most of this episode was off its rocker [...] but in the midst of all the madness came, possibly, the first inkling of a driving, directional plot point this season;[...] This season just seems so arbitrary, with people bouncing around from story to story; mixing their chocolate in each others' peanut butter." [1]

Ratings

Related Research Articles

Sookie Stackhouse

Sookie Stackhouse is a fictional character and protagonist of The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series, written by Charlaine Harris. In HBO's television adaptation, True Blood, Sookie is portrayed by Anna Paquin.

Eric Northman

Eric Northman is a fictional character in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of thirteen books written by New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. He is a vampire, slightly over one thousand years old, and is first introduced in the first novel, Dead Until Dark and appears in all subsequent novels. Since the book series is told from the first person perspective of Sookie Stackhouse, what readers perceive of his character is influenced by what Sookie comprehends. HBO's television series True Blood is based on this book series and the character of Eric Northman is portrayed somewhat differently. A list of True Blood characters has a detailed description of Eric's character from the TV show.

True Blood is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development.

Strange Love (<i>True Blood</i>) 1st episode of the first season of True Blood

"Strange Love" is the pilot episode of True Blood. The episode was written and directed by Alan Ball and originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 7, 2008. In the episode, Sookie Stackhouse meets vampire Bill Compton and saves him from vicious vampire drainers, while her best friend Tara becomes the new bartender at Sam Merlotte's bar and Sookie's brother Jason finds himself accused of murder. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics. It was rated TV-MA for Adult Content, Adult Language, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content, and Violence.

Bill Compton (<i>The Southern Vampire Mysteries</i>)

William Erasmus "Bill" Compton is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse series by author Charlaine Harris. He is a vampire and is introduced in the first novel in the series, Dead Until Dark, and has appeared in all of the novels since. In the fifth season of the television adaption, Bill plays the role of the main antagonist.

Tara Thornton

Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris's The Southern Vampire Mysteries and their television adaptation, HBO's True Blood.

<i>Living Dead in Dallas</i>

Living Dead in Dallas is the second book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This second novel follows the adventures of telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse of Bon Temps, Louisiana, as she is employed by Dallas vampires to use her telepathy to help find their lost companion. Sookie agrees to help investigate the whereabouts of the missing vampire on one condition: any humans found to be involved must be turned over to human law enforcement rather than subjected to vampire justice. In Dallas Sookie Stackhouse has her first encounter with the anti-vampire organization "The Fellowship of the Sun," as well as meeting and learning of the existence of werewolves.

<i>Dead to the World</i> (novel)

Dead to the World is the fourth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, released in 2004. In Dead to the World, Sookie aids vampires Eric and Pam in their struggle against a coven of witches seeking to take over control of their area, and takes care of Eric after the witches erase his memory.

Pamela Swynford De Beaufort

Pamela Ravenscroft, known as Pamela Swynford De Beaufort in True Blood, is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries by author Charlaine Harris. She is a vampire, Eric Northman's lesbian progeny and co-owner of Fangtasia, a vampire bar. Her age is not mentioned; Sookie thinks that she is over 200 years old. It is later revealed, in the short story "Two Blondes," that she's 160 years old, give or take a decade.

Jason Stackhouse

Jason Stackhouse is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by author Charlaine Harris. Introduced in the first novel, Dead Until Dark, Jason is Sookie Stackhouse's older brother and road crew supervisor for Bon Temps, Louisiana.

Jessica Hamby is a fictional character in the True Blood series, portrayed by Deborah Ann Woll. In the series, which chronicles the life of human waitress Sookie Stackhouse and her friends after vampires make themselves known to humans, Jessica is a newly turned vampire who must learn to deal with her vampiric abilities, weaknesses, and altered lifestyle.

<i>True Blood</i> (season 1) Season of television series

The first season of the American television drama series True Blood premiered on September 7, 2008 and concluded on November 23, 2008. It consists of 12 episodes, each running approximately 55 minutes in length and was, for the most part, based on the novel Dead Until Dark, the first entry in The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The story takes place in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, two years after vampires have made their presence known to mankind, and follows telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse as she attempts to solve a series of murders that seem to be motivated by a hatred of vampires.

<i>True Blood</i> (season 2) Season of television series

The second season of the television series True Blood commenced airing in the United States on June 14, 2009, concluded on September 13, 2009, and contains 12 episodes. It is loosely based on the second novel of The Southern Vampire Mysteries, Living Dead in Dallas.

Beyond Here Lies Nothin (<i>True Blood</i>) 12th episode of the second season of True Blood

"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" is the 12th and final episode of the second season of True Blood and the show's 24th overall. The episode, which was written by Alexander Woo and directed by Michael Cuesta, originally aired in the United States on HBO on September 13, 2009. Like the first-season finale, the episode is divided almost in half structurally; the first half focusing heavily on Maryann and her attempts to bring new life to the god Dionysus by sacrificing Sam Merlotte in a strange ritual, while the second half deals with the aftermath of those events and how Maryann's presence in Bon Temps has affected their lives. The episode received generally positive reviews and received an Emmy nomination.

"Turn! Turn! Turn!" is the first episode of the fifth season of HBO's television series True Blood and 49th episode overall. It first aired on HBO on June 10, 2012 and written by Brian Buckner and directed by Daniel Minahan. The episode's ratings were naturally good, and so far the episode's ratings are better than all of the other episodes of the season. The season itself is based on The Sookie Stackhouse Novels' fifth book, Dead as a Doornail. The episode picks up with the fourth season's characters and resumes their stories: Sookie and Lafayette's response to Debbie Pelt's attack; Bill and Eric's efforts to evade the Vampire Authority; Alcide's werewolf pack's hounding of Sam in pursuit of their missing leader Marcus. The episode also introduces new characters Nora Gainsborough and Judge Clements.

"Authority Always Wins" is the second episode of the fifth season of HBO's television series True Blood and 50th episode overall. First aired on June 17, 2012, it was written by Mark Hudis and directed by Michael Lehmann.

"Whatever I Am, You Made Me" is the third episode of the fifth season of HBO's television series True Blood and 51st episode overall. First aired on June 24, 2012, it was written by Raelle Tucker and directed by David Petrarca.

"Hopeless" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of HBO's original series True Blood and the 54th episode overall. It was first shown on TV on July 15, 2012 and was directed by Dan Attias and written by Alan Ball, creator of the series. The episodes of the series are based on the Charlaine Harris books, The Sookie Stackhouse novels whereas the episodes of the season are based on the fifth book in the series Dead As a Doornail (book) which follows the Shifters being murdered whereas in the season fang bangers and shifters are being hunted. Even so, the plot of the book is only one of the minor subplots. The episode primarily follows Bill and Eric who must now face Russell again after Roman is killed by him; Sookie and Jason go to a faery club where their family's dark history and greatest secrets are revealed to them. Meanwhile, Sam volunteers to assist Andy with a case. The episode was precceeded by Let's Boot and Rally and was followed by In the Beginning, which picks up the events of Hopeless. The episode received fair reviews from critics. The episode ended several minutes earlier than the timeslot filled, as it was about 50 minutes or so, which notably also happened in Let's Boot and Rally. Stephen Moyer will pick up the events of In the Beginning. As of 2012 the episode has received the most ratings only behind by the season premiere episode Turn, Turn, Turn!

"Save Yourself" is the twelfth and final episode of HBO's fifth season of the Vampire TV Series True Blood, while the 60th episode overall. The episode focuses on Eric's last attempt at trying to rid Bill of Lilith's madness as well as planning his escape with Nora; Sookie and the faeries fight against Steve Newlin and Russell Edgington. The season is loosely based on The Sookie Stackhouse Series' fifth book Dead as a Doornail, although much more of the book and its successors are incorporated than in previous seasons. The episode is preceded by Sunset and is followed by the season 6 premiere episode. The episode has mostly had good reviews, surpassing its predecessors in viewers, except for Turn, Turn, Turn! which remains with the highest number of viewers, with 5.20.

"Sunset" is the eleventh episode of the HBO TV series True Blood's fifth season, while the 59th episode overall. The episode is followed by Save Yourself and is preceded by Gone, Gone, Gone. The episode has better reviews and viewers than all of the episodes of its season, except for the season premiere, Turn, Turn, Turn, which so far has the most positive reviews and viewers.

References

  1. Fowler, Matt (29 July 2012). "True Blood: "Somebody That I Used To Know" Review. I AM SAM". IGN. Retrieved 30 July 2012.